The world’s largest Bike Show/Festival in the world for Recumbent and Tandem Bikes
We had arranged to have breakfast early at our guesthouse as we are eager to get to Spezi early. Other cyclists had the same idea and the breakfast room at the hotel was busy with other cycling fans, all looking forward to the day. Knowing that over 10,000 people attended last year, we want to avoid line ups in getting our tickets and we hope to be able to take advantage of test riding lots of bikes and tandems. The ride to Germersheim from Romerburg is about 13 km and it is mainly through forest, villages and parklands - a nice start to the day.
When we met the Reitz family 5 years ago, they told us about the Spezi....and as recumbent enthusiasts and all things cycling related, attending this event has been high on our bucket list.
We have a spacious room at Zum Engel Landgasthaus which includes an extra bedroom (good for housing our trailers and panniers) and 2 bathrooms. Being an old half timbered building, it is very quiet and charming.
Posters for the Spezi are everywhere. “Spezi rad messe” translates: special bike event”. This annual event has been running for 26 years. The wonder of it is that this small town of Germersheim hosts such a huge spectacle which attracts manufacturers and inventors of tandems, recumbents, e-bikes from far and wide. Basically, if you are involved in this industry or passion, it is a must for you to be there. So for people like us, the Spezi is nirvana with a lot of fun and whimsy thrown in.
On our morning ride to Germersheim, velomobiles and recumbents kept appearing on the road. We quickly became a convoy and felt a kinship with these other odd bikes and their riders.
This fellow, from nearby Speyer is riding a Dutch Challenge recumbent. Note the oval chainring which really looks odd, but as he explained to us, it is super efficient and not allowed to be on race bikes at events like Tour de France as it is felt to give an advantage.
We have arrived early and the line is not too bad. There’s a carnival feeling with people selling bikes and a vast array of unusual bikes parked. Seavo, for once, feels right at home, but since our tandem is different than European tandem recumbents, we still arouse curiosity from other cyclists.
We have always been impressed by the Dutch bike company, Nazca and we are eager to see and test ride their tandem called Quetzel. Henk and Monique are the owners/creators of these bikes and gave us a bike to ride for as long as we’d like. Yeah, what fun!
The Quetzel is outfitted with a Rohloff hub (just like Seavo) and has a hinge fold in the middle for ease of transporting. We like the clean sculptured lines of the frame, the solid build and the comfortable seats. We had a blast riding the Quetzel.
Another manufacturer we were keen to visit and hopefully test ride some of their trikes and tandem was Azub from Czech Republic. We have followed their progress and emergence as a big player in the recumbent industry. We were on our way to visit their factory and showroom last year on our bike trip when Seavo’s e-motor malfunctioned and we had to return to Bonn, Germany. As good Czechs who love their beer (as the should -it is great), they had brought beer brewed in their town and they offered us a freshly pulled pint....delicious.
Now, it is not just about the beer, but it kind of looks like it, I know. We were able to test ride their tandem, The Twin and some e-trikes. Wow, such fun. The Twin, like the Nazca Quetzel, has a hinge fold.
We met this couple, fellow tandem riders from Koln Germany “team cruiser king”. Chris König admired my tandem t-shirt and since it is from Canada, I couldn’t help her. But it broke the ice and we had a great chat about cycling, tandems, etc.
As we were packing up to ride back to our hotel, they rode by to continue our visit. Like us, they had been here from opening to closing - a long but fun filled day. What a joy to be surrounded by people who share and can relate to our passion for cycling.
The Rohloff hub shown below: the hub as it looks on the bike and a cross section on the right to show the intricate workings of the hub. This system replaces the derailleur and all of the gears are within the internal hub. All you need to do to keep it happy is to change the oil every 5,000 km, which is very simple, and you get a lifetime guarantee.
Ahhh, the Rohloff Hub -the holy grail of hubs for people like us. We upgraded our tandem 7 years ago and added this hub and there is no going back. Less maintenance for the bike, ease of shifting in any situation, and a smooth, quiet ride. These marvels of engineering, are made by a small company in Germany by hand. Highly recommended.
The fun thing about coming to Spezi is that you get to see products and bikes that you have only read about. This is the first time that we have been able to see one. The rep for Pinion was super excitied to share his knowledge.
The Pinion is a more recent internal hub that has come out. It is similar to the Rohloff, but unlike its co,petitor which can be retrofitted to,your bike, the Pinion must be built into a new build.
Ice trikes from Britain are sold in Victoria at Fairfield Bikes in Victoria, BC near our home. We are very interested in the new super comfy seat that has just been released at the show. The fellow assures Mary Ellen that it is well aerated by the channels of venting. This may be just what our aging backs need!
Do you have a spare €2000? Well, if you do, this tent-trailer to pull behind your bike might be for you. The structural elements are inflatable. We figure that the cost of the trailer equals the cost of 2 flights and medical insurance, so we’ll pass, but it was fun to see.
Mary Ellen is standing with Hubert, one of the founders of this small Dutch company, Radical design, which makes travel trailers for bikes (ours is the trailer on the right) in their small factory in the Netherlands. This brilliant trailer is very robust in spite of its lightweight design with parts that are all quick release. The wheels comes off super fast, the handle also removes easily, and as a result it becomes a duffel bag for flying and travel.
We are super excited to go to the Radical Design booth as we are “Radical People” as the company coins their fans and users. We bought their Cyclone trailer through mail order before our first trip 7years ago to Istanbul and it remains one of our favourite pieces of travel equipment.
Felicity MagillHello to you both. We are home again and I've finally found your Blog. Lovely meeting you and thanks for the mention :) Reply to this comment 5 years ago
